I’ve put a mud map below of the RUC so you can see where I’m working. I’m not very good at architectural drafting, so bear with me. A couple of people have asked me to do this because they can’t picture the entire place when I’m talking about the parts I’m working on.

The RUC is a perfect square (although, I’m not sure if my silly drawing looks like a perfect square, so just pretend). And The Big Room is slap bang in the middle (the white part in case you missed it) 😉

The front door faces due South.

Did you count the amount of doors I had to sand & paint/varnish and repair? Ick!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the RUC you may be a little shocked at the before pictures. The RUC was an empty building for some years and was going to be demolished when we saved it and moved it to the farm. I even have a copy of the demolition order! Vagrants had lived in it for some time. There was a fair bit of ‘street art’ on the walls (I say street art, but there was no art to it) and I removed it before I took the before pictures because it was pretty disgusting, so you don’t have to worry about seeing amateur street art in this post. However, I did leave the painted feet on the floor for a while (even though those feet annoyed me for some time!)

We put fibre cement sheeting beneath the revamped floor. I would never have thought of this, but hubby has worked in the fire protection industry for so many years that this was the first thing he thought of. Fire safety is his number one concern and the sheeting now ensures if there is a fire in the man cave below it won’t spread to the floorboards above. The exterior cladding on the RUC is also made of the same material in the event of a bush fire that spreads to the sugar cane (God forbid). This is something I would never have thought of – so thanks hubby for keeping us safe!

The book shelves you see on the walls were the old Rugby Union Club trophy cabinets (Silky Oak). I removed the top curly bits and I’m going to make shelves out of them.

Check out the front door in the first photo. I scraped/burned/sanded nine coats of paint off that to discover it’s beautiful Silky Oak wood.

Yes – we have a spare room that used to be the ‘office’ in the RUC. It was incredibly dingy and had bars on the windows – I could feel the entire house breathe a sign of relief when we took the bars off, made the windows bigger and let the light shine in! 😀

This is really incredible, Dianne. I’m so impressed with what you guys have done. Although I have no skills in renovating myself, I always loved watching those types of shows on TV. In fact, I’ve always loved touring homes–new, old, renovated–it doesn’t matter; I just love houses. Have you considered submitting your before and after pics to a magazine? I bet there would be real interest there in showing what you’ve done, especially considering the history behind the place.

I’ve been thinking about putting these pics in a magazine lately, Carrie. I never thought I would before because I actually didn’t think it would come up as good as it has! Every time I do something I think, ‘that looks better than I thought it would!’ LOL 😀

Hubby cut the floorboards and I laid them (I’m banned from power tools because I’m so clumsy!) and then I released how many muscles I had in my glutes! OUCH, it was hard to walk for a few days…

Absolutely AMAZING and so beautiful Dianne! Wow, what a transformation!!! I thoroughly enjoyed visiting via your pictures, your wonderful place! Thanks for sharing the power of having a vision and seeing the wonderful results from perseverance, and determination. 🙂

You’ve absolutely hit the nail on the head, Cathie. I had a vision and even though there were times that were very tough indeed, I never gave up and just stuck with it. It’s easy to think of big plans, but actually carrying them through to the end takes a load of perseverance and determination. I’ve learned a lot about myself and others through this experience (some good, some bad) and feel like I’ve really grown as a person.

Thank you so much for your comment – it’s really got me thinking (and that’s always a good thing) 😀

Have the local paint and hardware suppliers booked their luxury holidays yet? They must have made a fortune 😉 I love that you don’t need window coverings, and also that you haven’t fitted them just because. Our old house has the traditonal smaller windows, and coverings and carpets so I really envy the space and light and timber floors of your big room. And you need it to display your lovely furniture. The RUC suits it perfectly. Clever re-purposing of the trophy cabinets. I can imagine the RUC showcased in a future edition of Australian Country Style Magazine 🙂

LOL – so far we’ve only painted the inside, the hardware shop employees will be doing a round-the-world trip when we paint the outside!

The furniture was in storage in the dusty shed and I hated walking through there and seeing it looking so forlorn. I’m so glad it’s now in the house (hubby and I carried it all up the 18 tread steps btw!) oh, my back 😉 My M-I-L thinks I’m the strongest woman she’s ever met – bless her….

I rubbed clove oil on the wooden furniture and have not had any more issues with that dreaded mildew (YAY!)

Hmmm – Country Style Magazine, I wonder if they’d be interested in doing a story 😀

It certainly does, Guap! I could do what I pleased (and because I’m someone who has to sit and look at things for a while, make a decision and then change my mind, it was a lot easier that I did the work!) lol 😀

Lovely, light-filled, warm and inviting. Quite the transformation. I am impressed. (Plus, I’d never heard of that use for clove oil–for me it’s only been a toothache remedy.)

We are currently remodeling a little apartment–where we’ll stay while we build our cabin this summer. Right now it’s just raw land and we’re impatiently awaiting the approvals to begin (the building permit process.) In a few months, I’ll have pictures to share.

I can’t wait to see your pictures. One mistake I made was not taking pictures of the truly awful side of the RUC (the squalor), not that I would have shared it here, but just to remind myself about how bad it really was!

We had to go through a load of approvals for the RUC as well as having it cyclone upgraded (which I don’t mind at all!).

Incredible! Obviously you have tremendous talent in this arena, Dianne. Perhaps in your “spare” time, you and your husband should start a remodeling business. 🙂 It looks fabulous and so welcoming! When’s the housewarming party? 🙂

LOL – the housewarming party will be soon, Jill (I should also have a virtual housewarming party!) I’ve always thought I’d be pretty hopeless in the ‘renovation’ stakes, but I’ve never tried before. It’s amazing what you can do when you combine a vision with a load of determination! 😀

I’m so glad you like it – it’s hard to tell when you do it yourself and stand back and think ‘is it just me thinking I’ve done a good job? or does it really look as good as I think it does?’ 😉

Thank you darling, the high tea you served was simply devine, I shall come again soon 🙂 I can’t believe those floor boards were hidden, how appalling. Your hard work has paid off and still is I guess with the painting in store. Fantastic shots and your pretty damn good at the interior design caper too, then again it is YOU we are talking about, whose a clever girl 🙂 hugs and thanks for the invite xxx

Strangely enough, I’ve always thought I didn’t have an interior design bone in my body, but for some reason this place just brings it out in me. Hubby is right into Feng Shui (don’t you love it when the tradesman’s feminine side appears!) and is going to do a ‘plan’ so I know where to place my pictures. It’s done with a compass and each area of the room is designated for each area of your life (children, ancestors, success, etc) so I’m really looking forward to that.
I’m so glad you popped in today! More high tea and a chat very soon 😀

Absolutely gorgeous, from floor to ceiling, Dianne. What a lot of hard work it’s taken, but so worthwhile. Even though the ‘Big Room’ is so large, you’ve managed to make each area look cosy and inviting. Well done indeed. I’m so impressed. 🙂

Thank you so much, Sylvia. I’m looking forward to getting a few nice floor rugs and my pictures on the walls.

I wasn’t going to take photos of it in the beginning because it was so revolting, but I’m really glad I did now because I’ve got something to compare the ‘now’ shots with. I’m sure you’ll take photos of your place and I’m really excited about seeing your ‘before’ and ‘after’ pics as well 🙂

The veranda here used to cover all four sides of the house (I guess that’s why the big room is SO big – it was the main house) but over the years rooms were built on the veranda (kitchen & bathroom). We needed a bedroom so we closed off the west facing veranda. It’s so interesting that this is how we can date the house. Before the first world war houses were built like this, after the first world war they became smaller and the verandas became smaller, after the second world war the verandas became a porch at the front of the house. It all had to do with the availability of materials.

Sorry about this history lesson – I got a bit carried away! I’m so glad you like it 😀

Char ^^ took all my exclamations, just wow! I hope your husband allows you a cleaner so it can be kept in that condition while you get on with writing. I did wonder why the verandah faced north and east until I remembered…:-)

Every time you post about this house I am amazed anew by your vitality and dedication. You must have a great ability to see beyond all the yuck parts and visualise what the house could look like. It’s simply stunning.

Awww – thank you! I did visualise it but it actually looks better than I thought it would. It was so nice to drag all my furniture out of the shed where it’s been sitting for about 12 months! I’m just so relieved it’s done now 😀

I bow to the artistry, effort, perseverance, grit, determination and beauty created in the RUC, Dianne!! Honestly, I don’t know how you guys have made this incredible home, but I really admire you for what’s you’ve accomplished!!
I’m trying to decide where I would’ve quit if I’d been you – hm.
I hope you enjoy your home for many years…keep writing, too. 🙂

What a masterful job of recycling this building into a beautiful new home. I’m a carpenter, so I know what a feat this is. By the way, Diane. . . I’m Fran Guenette’s hubby, and I came over here from a recent comment you made over on Disappearing in Plain Sight. Good work here and cheers, to you and your husband,

Haha, I loved that you included the words “before” and “after”! As you pointed out, the difference, thank goodness, is quite clear 🙂 It’s so great to see how you’ve transformed the RUC. I love how you’ve been able to keep the great original features, highlighting them in your new beautiful space. Uhm… what’s with the footprints? 🙂

Thanks so much, Letizia 😀 I’m so glad you could see the difference (lol) 😉

Squatters or vagrants must have painted their own feet on the floor at some stage. Those footprints were such an annoyance to me. Every time I looked at them I’d just think ‘Arghhhhgrrrr’. I did a little happy dance when we finally finished the floor 😀

I love these pics. You must feel such an amazing sense of accomplishment. I am not handy like that at all, and my hubs wishes he were handy, so you can imagine we don’t tend to do a lot of house renovations. 🙂

I think my ‘handiness’ has been borne of necessity. Hubby is naturally handy which is great. But he’s like one of those kids at school who you know is really smart but just doesn’t try – when he puts his mind to it he’s amazing (so I carry a big whip!) LOL 😀